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Category: health – Page 8

Brainwave study sheds light on cause of ‘hearing voices’

A new study led by psychologists from UNSW Sydney has provided the strongest evidence yet that auditory verbal hallucinations—or hearing voices—in schizophrenia may stem from a disruption in the brain’s ability to recognize its own inner voice.

In a paper published today in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin, the researchers say the finding could also be an important step toward finding biological indicators that point to the presence of . This is significant, as there are currently no blood tests, , or lab-based biomarkers—signs in the body that can tell us something about our health—that are uniquely characteristic of schizophrenia.

Professor Thomas Whitford, with the UNSW School of Psychology, has been examining the role of inner speech in the cognition of healthy people and people living with schizophrenia spectrum disorders for some time.

How happy do we need to be to have lower chronic disease mortality risk?

Heart disease, cancer, asthma, and diabetes: All are chronic or non-communicable diseases (NCD), which accounted for about 75% of non-pandemic related deaths in 2021. They may result from genetic, environmental, and behavioral factors, or a combination thereof. But can other factors also influence disease risk?

Now, a new Frontiers in Medicine study has investigated the relationship between and health to find out if happier always means healthier and to determine if happiness and co-occurring health benefits are linear or follow a specific pattern.

“We show that subjective well-being, or happiness, appears to function as a population health asset only once a minimum threshold of approximately 2.7 on the Life Ladder scale is surpassed,” said first author Prof Iulia Iuga, a researcher at 1 Decembrie 1918 University of Alba Iulia. “Above this tipping point, increased happiness is associated with a decrease in NCD mortality.”

A hidden “backup heater” that helps burn fat and boost metabolism

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have uncovered a new way that brown fat, a type of fat that burns energy, can boost the body’s metabolism. This process allows cells to consume more fuel and generate heat, improving overall metabolic health. Conducted in mice, the research points to new possibilities for using brown fat to address metabolic conditions such as insulin resistance and obesity.

The findings were published Sept. 17 in Nature.

Brown fat is unique because it turns energy (calories) from food into heat. Unlike white fat, which stores energy, or muscle, which uses it immediately, brown fat helps keep the body warm in cold environments. Exposure to cold can increase the amount of brown fat, and scientists have long suggested that activating it could support weight loss by increasing calorie burning.

Bacteria Boost Chemotherapy Effectiveness

The microbiome encompasses all the microorganisms and viruses that reside in a particular environment in the body. Recent research on the relationship between the gut microbiome and a person’s health has led to an increased understanding of how specific microbiota can benefit or hinder the immune response in cancer patients and an individual’s response to cancer treatment.

A new publication in Cell Systems highlights the value of understanding the connections between microbiota and cancer therapy. The study demonstrates that a bacterium associated with colorectal cancer can elicit an anti-cancer effect on tumor cells.

The researchers employed a rigorous four-way screening approach to meticulously examine the molecular-level interactions between the host, microbe, drug, and nutrient. This comprehensive screening approach identified a metabolite, 2-methylisocitrate, that was upregulated in human tumor-associated microbiota, providing a solid foundation for the study’s findings.

Chemicals may be hitching a ride on nanoplastics to enter the skin

Plastic is ubiquitous in the modern world, and it’s notorious for taking a long time to completely break down in the environment—if it ever does.

But even without breaking down completely, plastic can shed —called nanoplastics because of their extremely small size—that scientists are just now starting to consider in long-term health studies.

One of those scientists is Dr. Wei Xu, an associate professor in the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences’ Department of Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology. Xu’s current work is focused on what happens when nanoplastics interact with seawater, where they can pick up some curious hitchhikers in the form of chemicals and organic components.

Leukemia cells evade treatment by reshaping their mitochondria, researchers discover

Researchers from Rutgers Health and other institutions have discovered why a powerful leukemia drug eventually fails in most patients—and found a potential way to overcome that resistance.

Team members identified a protein that lets reshape their energy-producing mitochondria in ways that protect them from venetoclax (brand name, Venclexta), a for acute myeloid leukemia that often loses effectiveness after prolonged use.

Blocking that protein with experimental compounds in mice with human acute myeloid leukemia restored the drug’s effectiveness and prolonged survival.

Sensor identifies sodium nitrite in drinks using laser-modified cork

A team of researchers from the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, has developed a sensor that can identify sodium nitrite (NaNO2) in various beverages, including mineral water, orange juice, and wine. This inorganic salt is used as a preservative and fixative to give products such as ham, bacon, and sausages their pink or red color. Depending on the amount, it can cause serious health problems by leading to the formation of nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic compounds.

“This risk motivated us to develop a simple, fast, and accessible way to detect the compound and ensure the quality and safety of liquid consumption,” says Bruno Campos Janegitz, head of the Laboratory of Sensors, Nanomedicine, and Nanostructured Materials (LSNano) at UFSCar. Janegitz coordinated the study, which was published in the journal Microchimica Acta.

“Detection [of NaNO2] in beverages, especially wines, is important for , since its use is not legally permitted in Brazil and most countries,” the authors write in the article.

Cyber defense innovation could significantly boost 5G network security

A framework for building tighter security into 5G wireless communications has been created by a Ph.D. student working with the University of Portsmouth’s Artificial Intelligence and Data Center.

With its greater network capacity and ability to rapidly transmit huge amounts of information from one device to another, 5G is a critical component of intelligent systems and services—including those for health care and financial services.

However, the dynamic nature of 5G networks, the high volumes of data shared and the ever changing types of information transmitted means that these networks are extremely vulnerable to cyber threats and increasing risks of attack.

Physical exercise can ‘train’ the immune system

In addition to strengthening the muscles, lungs, and heart, regular physical exercise also strengthens the immune system. This finding comes from a study of older adults with a history of endurance training, which involves prolonged physical activity such as long-distance running, cycling, swimming, rowing, and walking.

An international team of researchers analyzed the defense cells of these individuals and found that “natural killer” cells, which patrol the body against viruses and diseased cells, were more adaptable, less inflammatory, and metabolically more efficient.

The research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, investigated natural killer (NK) cells. NK cells are a type of white blood cell (lymphocyte) that can destroy infected and diseased cells, including cancer cells. They are at the forefront of the immune system because they detect and fight viruses and other pathogens. The researchers analyzed the cells of nine individuals with an average age of 64, divided into two groups: untrained and trained in endurance exercise.

Smartphone imaging system shows promise for early oral cancer detection in dental clinics

Oral cancer remains a serious health concern, often diagnosed too late for effective treatment, even though the mouth is easily accessible for routine examination. Dentists and dental hygienists are frequently the first to spot suspicious lesions, but many lack the specialized training to distinguish between benign and potentially malignant conditions.

To address this gap, researchers led by Rebecca Richards-Kortum at Rice University have developed and tested a low-cost, smartphone-based imaging system called mDOC (mobile Detection of Oral Cancer). Their recent study, published in Biophotonics Discovery, evaluates how well this system can help dental professionals decide when to refer patients to specialists.

The mDOC device combines and autofluorescence imaging with machine learning to assess oral lesions. Autofluorescence imaging uses to detect changes in tissue fluorescence, which can signal abnormal growth. However, this method alone can be misleading, as benign conditions like inflammation also reduce fluorescence.

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